Furniture has traditionally asked us to make an unfair choice: Do we want something beautiful, or do we want something that can survive spaghetti sauce, muddy paws, red wine, and that one guest who gestures with a full coffee mug?
The Jonathan Adler and Levity collaboration answered with a cheerful, pattern-covered “Why not both?” Originally launched on February 8, 2023, the collection combined Jonathan Adler’s bold approach to modern American glamour with Levity’s removable, machine-washable upholstery system. The result was designer seating intended for actual homesnot pristine showrooms where nobody eats, sheds, spills, or sits incorrectly.
At launch, the partnership covered eight furniture silhouettes and 17 upholstery styles drawn from 10 patterns. Dining chairs, lounge chairs, stools, and ottomans received Adler’s signature mix of geometric forms, saturated color, graphic contrast, and playful sophistication. In other words, the furniture looked ready for a stylish cocktail party while being engineered for the inevitable aftermath.
A Collaboration That Solves a Real Decorating Problem
Many shoppers love upholstered furniture until they remember that upholstered furniture lives dangerously. A dining chair might encounter tomato sauce before breakfast is over. A lounge chair can become a dog bed without receiving formal notice. Even adults who insist they are “not messy people” occasionally discover that gravity has strong opinions about cabernet.
Levity built its furniture concept around that reality. The brand, which was introduced as a sister company to washable-rug maker Ruggable, focused on seating with stain-resistant upholstery covers that could be removed, washed, and replaced. Depending on the piece, cushions and upholstered components were secured with combinations of zippers, snaps, and other hidden attachments so the finished furniture still looked tailored rather than wrapped in a loose protective sheet.
Jonathan Adler supplied what practical furniture sometimes lacks: personality. His designs turned the washable cover from a defensive household accessory into the visual reason to buy the chair. Instead of disguising durability beneath safe gray upholstery, the collaboration treated easy maintenance as permission to choose something more adventurous.
That was the collection’s smartest idea. When a cover is removable and replaceable, a dramatic pattern feels less like a lifetime commitment. You can bring home checkerboard upholstery without wondering whether you will still be emotionally prepared for checkerboard in 2038.
Jonathan Adler’s Style Meets Levity’s Practical Engineering
Jonathan Adler began his namesake business as a potter. Barneys purchased one of his pottery collections in 1993, and he opened his first store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood five years later. His brand eventually expanded into furniture, lighting, textiles, tabletop pieces, and full interior design projects, all connected by what the company calls “Modern American Glamour.”
That phrase is a useful description of Adler’s work. His interiors can feel polished without becoming solemn, luxurious without acting as though fun has been banned from the premises. Bold color, classical references, midcentury shapes, optical patterns, and witty decorative objects frequently share the same room.
Patterns That Refuse to Whisper
The Levity collaboration translated that visual language into washable upholstery. The launch assortment included patterns such as Checkerboard, Eden, Bargello, Okura, Malmo, Inkdrop, and Labyrinth. Some designs appeared in more than one colorway, producing 17 upholstery options from 10 underlying patterns.
Checkerboard was available in combinations including tangerine and celadon. Eden featured a more dramatic serpent motif in ivory and sapphire variations. Bargello Cobalt delivered energetic zigzags, while the Okura designs offered a quieter option for shoppers who wanted an Adler accent without making every chair the loudest person at dinner.
The range mattered because “bold” does not have to mean the same thing in every home. One shopper might pair a graphic lounge chair with white walls and simple wood furniture. Another might place a patterned ottoman beside striped pillows, a sculptural lamp, and enough colorful artwork to make minimalism file a restraining order.
What Was Included in the Jonathan Adler x Levity Collection?
The collaboration was not limited to a single accent chair. Adler’s covers were offered across several of Levity’s established seating frames, allowing the patterns to work in dining rooms, living rooms, breakfast spaces, bedrooms, and home bars.
Classic Dining and Lounge Chairs
The Classic Dining Chair offered a more upholstered, tailored profile than an exposed-frame dining seat. Its high back gave Adler’s patterns a larger canvas, making it especially suitable for homeowners who wanted the chairs to define the room rather than quietly surround the table.
The Classic Lounge Chair had a low, rounded silhouette with visible wood legs. At launch, it was one of the collection’s largest and most expensive pieces, reaching approximately $799 in Jonathan Adler upholstery. Its broad surfaces allowed designs such as Bargello Cobalt and Eden Ivory to read almost like textile art.
Scandinavian Dining and Lounge Chairs
The Scandinavian styles paired upholstered cushions with visible wood frames. Dining chairs, lounge chairs, bar stools, and counter stools were offered with white oak or walnut finishes, giving shoppers a choice between a lighter, casual look and a richer midcentury mood.
The Scandinavian Dining Chair was particularly versatile. It had enough exposed wood to keep a strong print from overwhelming a small room, while the padded seat and back provided more comfort than a basic hard dining chair. Published testing of Levity’s Scandinavian Dining Chair found its solid-wood frame sturdy, its padded seat supportive, and its washable upholstery effective after months of use around children and a large dog.
Bar Stools, Counter Stools, and Ottomans
The Scandinavian frame was also adapted for bar-height and counter-height seating. These pieces made it possible to introduce pattern at a kitchen island without adding a large lounge chair or replacing an entire living-room setup.
Two ottoman shapes completed the collection: the Mid-Century Tray Ottoman and the Transitional Ottoman. An ottoman is often the easiest entry point for a daring fabric because it occupies less visual space than a chair. It can serve as a footrest, an extra seat, or a small statement piece that says, “Yes, I understand beige. I have simply chosen another path.”
Why Machine-Washable Upholstery Is More Than a Gimmick
Machine-washable furniture sounds like a novelty until you consider how expensive professional upholstery cleaning can beor how quickly a permanent stain changes your relationship with a chair.
Levity’s system separated the decorative cover from the protected cushion beneath it. When a spill occurred, owners could spot-clean the surface or remove the cover and wash it according to the care instructions. At launch, the company recommended cold water, a delicate cycle, mild bleach-free detergent, and low-temperature or air drying, depending on the specific cover instructions.
Real-world testing supported the basic concept. An Epicurious reviewer used off-white Levity dining-chair covers for six months in a household with two young children and a 90-pound dog. After washing, the covers reportedly returned close to their original appearance, with only a faint mark remaining from a stain that had not been treated promptly.
Washable upholstery is not magical, of course. A stain still benefits from quick attention. Care labels still matter. Covers can shrink if exposed to the wrong temperature, and repeatedly washing fabric unnecessarily may shorten its useful life. The practical advantage is not that owners can ignore every mess forever; it is that an ordinary accident does not automatically become permanent furniture history.
Interchangeable Covers Make the Furniture More Flexible
The removable covers also addressed a decorating problem unrelated to stains: people change their minds.
Traditional upholstery is expensive to replace. Professional reupholstery may require significant labor, transportation, and fabric costs. With Levity’s system, owners could purchase another compatible cover and update the furniture without replacing its frame.
This flexibility had several possible uses. A light Okura design could brighten the room during spring and summer, while a darker geometric cover could create a cozier fall look. A homeowner moving from a neutral apartment into a more colorful house could keep the same chair and change only its visual identity. Parents could choose a forgiving pattern during the finger-painting years and switch to a lighter design after the household entered a less sticky era.
At launch, individual Jonathan Adler covers started at approximately $109, while some complete dining chairs started around $239. Those were introductory prices and should be treated as historical figures rather than guaranteed current pricing.
How Durable Was the Furniture?
“Durable” can describe several different qualities. A stain-resistant textile may be easy to clean but unpleasant to touch. A solid frame may last for years but feel uncomfortable. A removable cover may survive the washing machine but become an Olympic-level wrestling event when it is time to put it back on.
Levity’s published reviews suggest that the company got many of the fundamentals right, although the experience varied by model and personal comfort preference.
Architectural Digest’s review of the Classic Lounge Chair praised its practical construction, tight fabric weave, washable covers, waterproof protection beneath the upholstery, and hardwood legs. The reviewer considered it supportive and durable but noted that the chair was firm rather than sink-in soft. The piece was also fairly large, making careful measurement important for apartment dwellers.
That firmness may appeal to people who prefer structured seating, reading chairs, or upright support. Shoppers dreaming of disappearing into a marshmallow-shaped cloud may prefer something deeper and softer. Washability is a major benefit, but it cannot substitute for checking seat depth, back angle, cushion density, room dimensions, and weight capacity.
Who Is This Collaboration Best For?
Homes With Children
Dining chairs are highly exposed to spills, crumbs, markers, craft supplies, and mysterious substances that no adult remembers purchasing. Removable upholstery can make padded dining chairs realistic for families that would otherwise choose hard seating purely for survival.
Pet Owners
Dogs bring dirt, drool, fur, and great enthusiasm. Cats bring fur, occasional accidents, and a deeply held belief that every new chair was purchased for them. A tightly woven, washable cover is easier to maintain than delicate upholstery that requires professional cleaning after every mishap.
Frequent Hosts
People who entertain regularly may appreciate furniture that can look polished during a party and recover afterward. Wine, dips, coffee, and oily appetizers are less frightening when the upholstery is designed to come off.
Design Lovers Who Get Bored Easily
The interchangeable-cover system is also attractive to anyone who frequently changes colors, accessories, or seasonal decor. Rather than buying another chair, the owner can create a different look with a new textile.
Small-Space Decorators
A single patterned chair or ottoman can provide enough visual interest that a room needs fewer decorative objects. That can be valuable in a compact apartment where every surface is already negotiating for elbow room.
How to Style Jonathan Adler x Levity Furniture
Let One Pattern Lead
In a smaller room, choose one Adler pattern as the focal point. Pair a Checkerboard dining chair or Bargello lounge chair with simple walls, restrained window treatments, and a rug that does not compete for custody of the eyeballs.
Repeat a Color, Not the Entire Pattern
A room feels coordinated when a color from the upholstery appears elsewhere in a lamp, vase, pillow, or piece of art. There is no need to repeat the exact pattern. In fact, repeating it too many times can make the room look like the pattern has started a franchise.
Mix Graphic Upholstery With Natural Materials
Wood, stone, woven baskets, linen curtains, and warm metal finishes can ground a strong geometric print. Levity’s walnut and white-oak frame options already performed part of this balancing act.
Use Symmetry for a More Formal Look
Two matching lounge chairs facing a sofa create order, even when the upholstery is exuberant. Symmetry allows a vivid pattern to feel intentional and sophisticated rather than random.
Order Swatches Before Committing
Color can shift dramatically between a phone screen and an actual textile. Lighting, wall paint, flooring, and nearby fabrics all affect perception. One published Levity reviewer liked the selected cover color but found that it did not coordinate with the room as expected. A physical swatch could prevent an expensive case of “beautiful, but not here.”
The Bigger Design Trend Behind the Collaboration
The Jonathan Adler x Levity launch arrived as consumers were demanding more from everyday furniture. A chair could no longer succeed merely by photographing well. Buyers increasingly wanted removable covers, stain resistance, modular components, replaceable parts, and materials that could handle pets and children.
Washable rugs helped normalize the idea that high-maintenance home textiles could be redesigned around ordinary washing machines. Furniture was a logical next step. Recent product testing and expert guidance continue to emphasize performance fabrics, dense weaves, washable slipcovers, sturdy frames, and replaceable upholstery for busy households.
This change is good news for design lovers. Practicality no longer has to arrive dressed exclusively in taupe. When companies combine easier maintenance with credible design talent, consumers can choose lively furniture without treating every meal like a hazardous-materials exercise.
A Practical Ownership Experience: What Living With the Collection Could Feel Like
The following experience-based analysis draws on the collection’s construction, care instructions, and published product testing rather than claiming personal ownership of the furniture.
Day One: The Pattern Changes the Entire Room
Imagine adding a pair of Checkerboard Celadon dining chairs to a room dominated by white walls, a plain wood table, and neutral flooring. The effect would be immediate. Before the chairs arrived, the room might have felt unfinished. Afterward, it would have a point of view.
That is one of the collection’s strongest experiential benefits: a relatively compact piece can do the decorating work of several accessories. You may discover that the room needs fewer pillows, fewer objects on the table, and perhaps one less framed print. The upholstery is already carrying a significant portion of the visual conversation.
Assembly would depend on the model. Levity’s Scandinavian Dining Chair was delivered flat-packed in published testing, and the reviewer assembled two chairs in roughly an hour after becoming familiar with the first one. A lounge chair would require more room during setup, especially if its cushions, frame, and covers arrived separately.
The First Spill: Panic, Followed by Curiosity
The real emotional test would arrive when somebody dropped food on the seat. With ordinary designer upholstery, the sequence is predictable: freeze, gasp, grab every cleaning product in the house, and accidentally make the wet area three times larger.
With a removable cover, the reaction could be calmer. A fresh surface spill might wipe away. A more serious stain could be pretreated before the cover entered a cold, delicate wash. The important experience is not merely cleaner fabric; it is reduced anxiety. Furniture becomes something the household can use rather than protect like a museum loan.
The system would still require effort. Removing a fitted cover takes longer than wiping a wooden seat, and reinstalling it carefully is necessary to restore the tailored appearance. Air drying also means the chair may be temporarily unavailable. Keeping a second cover could solve that problem while creating another design option.
Living With a Bold Pattern
After several weeks, the visual excitement of a strong print would likely become part of the room’s normal rhythm. A pattern such as Eden Sapphire might initially dominate the space, but repeated exposure tends to make statement furniture feel less intimidating.
The easiest way to keep the room balanced would be to resist constant competition. A serpent motif does not need neighboring pillows featuring tropical birds, leopards, Roman columns, and a portrait of Napoleonunless maximalism is the deliberate goal, in which case Napoleon should at least coordinate with the curtains.
A restrained surrounding palette would make the chair easier to live with over time. Owners could repeat one upholstery color in a small lamp, vase, or throw and allow the rest of the room to remain quieter.
Seasonal Changes Without Replacing Furniture
The most satisfying long-term experience might come from changing covers. Swapping a bright pattern for a darker design could refresh the room faster than repainting walls or buying new furniture. The chair’s familiar shape and comfort would remain, but its personality would change.
This also makes experimentation less risky. A renter who expects to move can keep the frame and later choose upholstery that better suits the next apartment. A homeowner can update the dining room after changing wall color. A family can retire a heavily used cover without discarding a perfectly sound chair.
The Honest Trade-Offs
The experience would not be perfect for everyone. Structured Levity seating may feel too firm for shoppers who prefer deep, plush cushions. Large lounge-chair dimensions can challenge compact rooms. Fitted covers require correct washing and drying, and physical swatches are important because screens do not reproduce every shade accurately.
Still, the collection’s central promise remains compelling: distinctive designer furniture can participate in daily life. It can host dinner, tolerate pets, survive an accident, and return to looking presentable without requiring a professional cleaning appointment and a small emotional-support team.
Conclusion: Glamour That Does Not Fear Real Life
The Jonathan Adler and Levity collaboration stood out because it did not treat beauty and durability as opposing goals. Adler’s graphic patterns gave Levity’s washable seating a recognizable designer identity, while Levity’s removable-cover system made those patterns easier to use in active households.
The collection was especially relevant for families, pet owners, frequent hosts, and design enthusiasts who wanted expressive furniture without living in fear of stains. Its chairs and ottomans were not indestructible, and shoppers still needed to consider comfort, dimensions, care instructions, and color accuracy. Nevertheless, the collaboration offered a persuasive model for modern furniture: make it attractive enough to love, practical enough to use, and flexible enough to change.
That may be the most luxurious feature of all. Real glamour is not owning a chair nobody is allowed to touch. It is owning a gorgeous one, inviting people to sit down, and knowing the upholstery has a recovery plan.
